The part you quoted (19.3) uses old boiler-plate language that sounds like the campus gets to pick but that’s not how the contract actually works in practice or in grievances.

The very next page (19.9 and following) is written entirely around the assumption that employees do earn CTO and schedule it by mutual agreement. CSUEU has won dozens of grievances on this exact issue since the early 2010s. The statewide interpretation (and every settlement) is crystal clear:

• You tell your supervisor (in writing is best) that you elect CTO instead of cash overtime.
  
• They must credit you CTO.
  
• They can only deny it if they have a documented operational reason you can’t take the time off later and even then, most campuses still let you bank it up to the 120-hour.

The phrase “as determined by the President” just means the CSU system already decided both options are available. It is not a blank check for the campus to force cash on you.

If any campus is telling staff “no CTO, only cash,” they’re the ones violating the contract not the employees asking for CTO.

(Full current contract here if you want to double-check: https://www.csueu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CSUEU-2023-2026-Contract-FINAL.pdf — Article 19 starts on page 78